Posts under ‘Rossport Five’

IT was always about ‘sovereignty’ for retired teacher and one of the Rossport Five, Vincent McGrath. So last week’s news that Shell is in the process of selling the controversial Corrib Gas project reminded him of the lines from the War of Independence poem, Shanagolden:
“These hills are at peace again, the Saxon stranger gone.”

Speaking to The Mayo News yesterday (Monday), Mr McGrath, who with four other local men spent 94 days in jail in 2005 for flouting an injunction allowing Shell onto their lands, said: “For me it was always about sovereignty and the health and safety of our community and our Government ceded this to Shell and thus failed in their primary duty to protect their citizens in Erris.”read more

Losses on Corrib near €2bn as Shell sells up

It had been beset by more than a decade of delays and rows with protesters before production began.

The Corrib gas field has left Shell and its partners in the project with losses running to the best part of €2bn to date.

Shell announced yesterday it was exiting the project in a deal worth potentially as much as €1.08bn, selling its 45pc stake in the project to a Canadian pension fund, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

The deal – which is expected to complete next year – will see Shell take an impairment charge of around $350m (€307m) and write off $400m (€350m) in historical currency movements that have impacted on its valuation of the asset.read more

Extracts from an article by Colm Keena published by The Irish Times on 22 Sept 2016

Shell E&P Ireland Offshore Inc associated with Corrib gas project

Two companies registered in the Bahamas and used by Dublin property investor Paul Fenelon for investments in the UK are among companies of Irish interest on the Corporate Registry of the Bahamas.

The registry, normally difficult to access, is being made publicly available by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), of which The Irish Times is a media partner.

Shell E & P Ireland Offshore Inc, a company with an address in Nassau, has had a number of Irish directors over the years, starting in 2000. The company is associated with the Corrib gas project in Co Mayo.read more

LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) – Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell will start dismantling its nearly 40-year-old Brent Delta platform in the North Sea in 2017, a senior manager said, delaying the process by around one year.

Brent Delta, as tall as the Eiffel Tower, is the first of four Brent platforms to be decommissioned and one of the first large-scale projects to dismantle a depleted North Sea oil field.

The start of the complex work, which has been planned for 10 years, has been delayed to next year after it took longer than expected to equip the specialist vessel which will transport the 25,000-tonne topside of the platform to Hartlepool harbour where it will be taken apart.read more

SHELL TO SEA campaigner Maura Harrington has been arrested in Mayo and taken to Mountjoy Prison to serve time for an unpaid fine.

It is understood she was arrested this afternoon as she left a bank in Belmullet. She was taken to Belmullet garda station and then transported to the Dóchas Centre women’s prison at Mountjoy, where she is expected to spend ten days.

The activist was convicted last year in relation to the obstruction of a tunnel-boring machine at the Shell plant in Ballinaboy. A monetary penalty of €300 was imposed as part of her sentence, but she has refused to pay it.read more

…many of those involved have been ridiculed, slandered, spied on, harassed, beaten and jailed – all for upholding their democratic right to peaceful dissent. Incidents included the 2005 jailing of the Rossport Five, who spent 94 days in prison at the behest of Shell.

Ruairí McKiernan

As gas is flared into the skies above north Mayo, it is worth reflecting on a project that has been one of modern Ireland’s greatest scandals, a stunning fiasco in planning, economics, environmental protection and the abuse of civil liberties.

Far from it being just about energy supply, jobs and development, the Corrib gas project cuts to the core of this republic and asks big questions about how the country is run.

For more than 10 years now, campaigners have attempted to highlight the project’s many flaws.read more

The Corrib legacy: what the protests achieved

A rerouting of the pipeline and greater public awareness of how Ireland treats its natural resources were among the positive outcomes of the Shell to Sea, campaigners say

Bríd McGarry, a Mayo landowner, and Mary Corduff, wife of jailed farmer Willie Corduff, after five Mayo farmers were jailed in 2005 for refusing to give an undertaking not to obstruct the construction of the Corrib gas pipe line. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times

Lorna Siggins: Monday June 29, 2015

“You’ve gone very quiet up there.” North Mayo resident Mary Corduff reckons that if she had a euro for every time she heard this remark over the past few months, her purse could be pretty full. “People think because they don’t see us on protesting on the television that we have accepted this, but we haven’t,” Corduff says, looking out of her farmhouse window towards the Corrib gas refinery several miles away.read more

A Massive Pipe Came Loose in an Atlantic Gas Field and Irish Environmentalists Are Not Happy

The Corib Gas pipeline project by the Western Irish fishing village of Rossport, County Mayo, has always been a source of controversy. It was established amid arrests and police batons, against the wishes of locals and environmental protesters. The project is supposed to start pumping gas this summer, and those activists remain convinced that extracting fossil fuels from an area famed for its natural beauty is a bad idea.

Just over a week ago, an 800 metre pipe that was supposed to be fixed to the sea-bed floated to the surface. Feeling that their fears may have been justified, local activists are demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) looks into it. I contacted the EPA who had previously said they would be investigating the issue. When I asked whether members of the EPA would visit the site, I was told they “don’t consider it necessary at this time”.read more

From an article by Michael T. Klare published 12 March 2015 by utne.com

Big Oil’s Broken Business Model

In the wake of collapsing oil prices, Big Oil must alter its broken business model or face being outcompeted by smaller, nimbler energy producers.

Many reasons have been provided for the dramatic plunge in the price of oil to about $60 per barrel (nearly half of what it was a year ago): slowing demand due to global economic stagnation; overproduction at shale fields in the United States; the decision of the Saudis and other Middle Eastern OPEC producers to maintain output at current levels (presumably to punish higher-cost producers in the U.S. and elsewhere); and the increased value of the dollar relative to other currencies. There is, however, one reason that’s not being discussed, and yet it could be the most important of all: the complete collapse of Big Oil’s production-maximizing business model.read more

Extract from an Irish Times article by Ciaran Hancock published Mon 16 June 2014

About €1.5 billion will be spent on oil and gas exploration around Ireland over the next three years, according to a study by accounting group PwC. Eighty per cent of those surveyed said they were optimistic about the chances of discovering oil here but almost two-thirds said the future development of the industry would depend on the licensing and financial terms offered by the Government.Nine out of 10 respondents said the “events” in Corrib, where Shell has been seeking to develop a natural gas field since 1996 against a backdrop of significant local opposition, had done “serious or significant damage” to Ireland’s reputation among international oil and gas companies.read more

Extracts from a review by Danny Chivers of the recently published book by retired Royal Dutch Shell Group Chairman Sir Mark Moody-Stuart: “RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP: Lessons from the Front Line of Sustainability and Ethics”

Article originally published under the headline:

“If this is responsible leadership, then I’m an Ogoni”

Reading this book was a strange experience. It was like stepping into a parallel Universe where extractive industries bring overwhelming benefits to communities around the world, with the only negative consequences being caused by corrupt local governments. Again and again throughout the book, Moody-Stuart seems to wilfully ignore the unequal power relations between multinational corporations and the people in whose lands they operate. Perhaps the element of the book that made me angriest was Moody-Stuart’s insistence, in relation to Nigeria and elsewhere, that Shell “did not get involved in local politics”. This ignores the wealth of evidence showing collusion between the company and Nigeria’s military regime that led to a landmark payout of $15.5 million by Shell to the families of nine executed Nigerian activists.read more

“The Observer asked the Garda and Gilligan specifically to deny the delivery, but no denial came, only a repeat of the prepared statement. The Observer replied that, unless a denial was received, we would presume the veracity of OSSLâ€™s story. Silence ensued.”

Shell’s Corrib gas project has been delayed for years by strong resistance in County Mayo. Now claims are emerging of corporate sweeteners, including a consignment of alcohol for police after a clash with protesters

For 10 years, the Shell oil and gas behemoth has endeavoured to bring ashore a pipeline from the Atlantic into the heart-stopping beauty of Ireland‘s County Mayo seaboard. And for 10 years, local people whose ancestors farmed the land and fished the ocean have been determined to stop it.

The struggle has become an epic clash between the Goliath that is Shell, backed by the Irish police, and a group assembled around the umbrella protest group Shell to Sea, whose founder, retired primary schoolteacher Maura Harrington, says that, “thanks in no small measure to the Shell to Sea campaign, the project is 10 years behind schedule and its budget has trebled”.read more

The Corrib gas field in Ireland has become almost three times more expensive than planned and evoked local hatred against the company. The scandalous project is forgotten in Norway, however. Statoil is aware that the Corrib project has been controversial, but point out that Shell is operator for the development.

ARTICLES ABOUT STATOIL, SHELL & THE CORRIB GAS PROJECT, PUBLISHED TODAY IN NORWAY

1st ARTICLE

Statoil in Ireland money quagmire

The Corrib gas field in Ireland has become almost three times more expensive than planned and evoked local hatred against the company. The scandalous project is forgotten in Norway, however.

Statoil was part of a rare gas discovery off the northwestern coast of Ireland in 1996. With its 36.5 percent share in Corrib, the company saw a green future in Ireland. The plan was to start gas production in 2003. It did not work. The scandalous Corrib project disappeared from the annual reports after Statoil referred to Ireland as a focus area in the early 2000’s.
Read the response from Statoil and Shell here:read more

The report refers to evidence of “a pattern of intimidation, harassment, surveillance and criminalisation” of those peacefully opposing the gas project.

UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, has called on the Irish government to investigate all allegations and reports of intimidation, harassment and surveillance in the context of the Corrib Gas dispute.

Sekaggay visited Ireland in November last year and met with a delegation, which included seven members of Shell to Sea, to discuss challenges faced by those protesting the project in Mayo. At the time she said she was “concerned” about the situation faced by activists.read more

In a report submitted to the UN Human Right Council last Monday (4th March), the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Margaret Sekaggya, called on the Irish Government to “Investigate all allegation and reports of intimidation, harassment and surveillance in the context of the Corrib Gas dispute in a prompt and impartial manner”. [1]

Mrs Margaret Sekaggya visited Ireland last November to assess the situation for Human Rights Defenders in Ireland. On the 21st of November she met with a delegation from Shell to Sea.[2]read more

By John Donovan: We have published below the content of an email sent on 1 March 2013 to Shell CEO Peter Voser by a former Shell supplier in Ireland: The OSSL Company. Basically it is alleged that Shell involved the company in corruption, facilitating bribes given to third parties on Shell’s behalf, including the Irish police. This activity all related to the highly controversial Corrib Gas Project in Ireland, dogged by allegations of corruption, threats, imprisonment of protestors, and misconduct by Shell from the outset. OSSL claims that invoices were falsified at the instruction of Shell as part of the conspiracy.The email message has a typically Irish flavour…

CONTENT OF THE OSSL EMAIL TO PETER VOSER

A man in a SHELL HAT asks for a car engine …we ask why us?

The man in the SHELL HAT explains its for him …we ask who will pay and explain we don’t sell car engines …

The man in the SHELL HAT say he will pay and as a favour to him can we locate it and buy it

We think he’s wearing a SHELL HAT he must be a man of integrity or SHELL would not give him that hat.

We tell the man in the SHELL HAT your engine is here …fine he says i will come and see you…

He arrives in our premises in person in the HAT ….now about that engine it’s not actually for me… now even although you thought it was because I told you it wasread more

Big Oil has watched the Irish scene and its public protests and court cases with trepidation. John O’Sullivan, technical director with Providence Resources, told the Financial Times, “We’ve definitely seen a Corrib ripple effect…. [Potential investors] go through the technical assessment, it gets to their main board and then someone who has worked at Shell or read about Corrib says they are not going to touch Ireland.”

11 November 2012

Ireland’s troubled economy received a jolt of hope last month with the news that an oil field off the achingly beautiful coast of West Cork may contain as much as 1.7 billion barrels of oil, with 280 million barrels of that recoverable in the short term at a rate of 100,000 barrels a day, That’s more than the entire country consumes and you would think “Eureka!” is the word. But few are doing cartwheels just yet, given the legacy of futility that has plagued Irish offshore resource exploration for decades.read more

FROM OUR SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE OCTOBER 2005

The Guardian (UK): Don’t be defeatist: the power of protest is alive and well

“…in Ireland last week huge public pressure forced Shell to lift an injunction which had seen five anti-pipeline farmers jailed for 94 days.”

Friday 7 October 2005

The government cannot stifle dissent, say Helen Steel and Dave Morris

George Monbiot looked at some of the wide range of repressive measures increasingly being used to undermine the public’s right to protest (Protest is criminalised and the huffers and puffers say nothing, October 4). The government is exploiting every opportunity to extend its powers over us all. Its aim is to try to protect the status quo so that those who have wealth and power can continue to dominate our world, untroubled by anyone fighting back.read more

FROM OUR SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE OCTOBER 2005

Western People: Shell may face contempt proceedings over pipeline breach

“As the Rossport Five walked to freedom in the High Court on Friday after 94 days in jail, Shell oil company executives, who had demanded their imprisonment in the first place, were themselves having to face potential contempt of court issues.”

Posted Thursday, October 06, 2005

By Ray Managh at the High Court, Dublin

As the Rossport Five walked to freedom in the High Court on Friday after 94 days in jail, Shell oil company executives, who had demanded their imprisonment in the first place, were themselves having to face potential contempt of court issues.

High Court President, Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan, who released the men to the cheers of their families and friends, told counsel for Shell, Mr Patrick Hanratty, he wanted the company to address its breach of an undertaking not to do anything not permitted by the licence of Minister for the Marine, Noel Dempsey.read more

FROM OUR SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE SEPT 2005

Daily Telegraph: 10,000 to march in support of jailed pipeline protesters

“Anger is mounting over the jailing of five landowners who have been in prison for nearly 100 days for objecting to Shell building a pipeline through one of the last European -wildernesses.”: “The case of the Rossport Five, a group of small-time farmers from Co Mayo, has become an international cause célèbre and resulted in widespread criticism of the oil company and the Irish government.”

Monday 26 September 2005

By Tom Peterkin, Ireland Correspondent

(Filed: 26/09/2005)

Anger is mounting over the jailing of five landowners who have been in prison for nearly 100 days for objecting to Shell building a pipeline through one of the last European -wildernesses.

The case of the Rossport Five, a group of small-time farmers from Co Mayo, has become an international cause célèbre and resulted in widespread criticism of the oil company and the Irish government.

This week, 10,000 people will arrive in Dublin for a rally in support of the men while the issue is set to dominate the Irish parliament when it returns from its summer break on Wednesday.read more

FROM OUR SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE: ON THIS DAY IN 2005

Irish Times: Shell denies fears over loss of consents

“It is 80 days since five sincere men of principle were jailed by Shell. Talks, not imprisonments, will resolve this impasse that has exposed the unhealthy state of our democracy.”

Posted Sunday 18 Sept 2005

Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent

Shell E&P Ireland has denied fears of losing ministerial consents for the 900 million gas project if it lifts the injunction against five Mayo men in prison over opposition to the onshore gas pipeline.

However, the company has issued a plea to the men in prison to “consider their position”, following its first formal offer to them this week of mediation without any preconditions.

The men have agreed to formal mediation, but their solicitor, Padraic Ferry, said yesterday this could only take place if the injunction was lifted, as otherwise the men would be under duress.read more

FROM OUR SEPT 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

Ireland On-Line: ‘Rossport Five’ supporters call for national rally

“Supporters of the so-called Rossport Five, who were jailed 11 weeks ago over their protests against a controversial gas pipeline, are today calling for public support for a national rally demanding their release.”

Thursday 15 Sept 2005

Supporters of the so-called Rossport Five, who were jailed 11 weeks ago over their protests against a controversial gas pipeline, are today calling for public support for a national rally demanding their release.

The Shell to Sea campaign, which opposes the construction of the gas pipeline in Co Mayo by oil giant Shell, is launching the rally outside the company’s offices in Dublin.

The national demonstration and march to Leinster House will take place on October 1, and families and supporters are urging trade unions, community groups and political parties to join the rally.read more

Printed below is a leaked email to a Shell EP Ireland manager, Mr Brian Foley, sent by a thoroughly disenchanted local supplier to the Corrib Gas Project in Ireland, an enterprise dogged by controversy.

This includes several months imprisonment of local landowners, the Rossport Five and a hunger-strike by another jailed campaigner, the retired school principal, Maura Harrington, the current spokesperson for the Shell to Sea campaign.

Two sources have confirmed the authenticity of the email, which makes serious allegations that seem to have drawn several Shell officials, mangers and executives into the story, including the Chief Executive Officer of Shell EP Ireland, Mr Michael Crothers.read more

FROM OUR SEPT 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

Question mark over legal status of Royal Dutch Shell Statement of General Business Principles

“The development may also be of interest to the Rossport Five jailed in Ireland at Shell’s behest after making a stand on environmental grounds.”

Friday 9 September 2005: 10.00am ET

By John Donovan

Comments in an important judicial handbook recently published as part of the United Nations Environment Programme, imply that contrary to previous understanding, voluntary Codes of Conduct implemented by multinational corporations may be subject to rights of legal redress. As a result, it appears that legal remedies for corporate misdeeds may have now reached the doorstep of Shell in relation to its Statement of General Business Principles (SGBP) which solemnly pledge honesty, integrity and transparency in all of Shell’s dealings. The SGBP is specifically cited in the relevant comments.read more

FROM OUR SEPT 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

The Independent: Ballad of the Rossport five

The men held in Ireland’s Cloverhill prison now have not only their own title – the Rossport Five – but their own ballad as well, which lauds their gallantry and decries the energy giant Shell as an “ignoble predator”.

“The campaign received a boost in recent months when it was revealed that consultants brought in by the government were not independent, as had been claimed, and in fact had connections with Shell.”

Wednesday 7 Sept 2005

It is David versus Goliath as residents of Mayo try to halt Shell’s efforts to bring Ireland’s gas ashore. They say the oil giant’s plans are unsafe – and five protesters are now in jail.

FROM OUR SEPT 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

Irish Times: Jailed protesters made their point, says Taoiseach

“…Bertie Ahern has said the five Mayo men imprisoned for contempt of court in connection with their opposition to the proposed Corrib gas pipeline have made their point and it is beyond him why they wish to remain in jail.”

Monday 5 Sept 2005

Gordon Deegan

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said the five Mayo men imprisoned for contempt of court in connection with their opposition to the proposed Corrib gas pipeline have made their point and it is beyond him why they wish to remain in jail.

The men are today in their 69th day in Cloverhill Prison in Dublin.

Speaking in Ennis on Saturday, Mr Ahern said unfortunately he had no power to release them from jail.

“The law would be the same for me if I was in contempt of court, I’d suffer the same fate and that’s how it is,” he added.read more

News Release – Issued by Shell to Sea – Thursday, 16th August, 2012

NEW EVIDENCE OF SHELL’S COVERT SURVEILLANCE EMERGES

— Scans of two IRMS notebooks sent to Shell to Sea —

This week Shell to Sea received further evidence of the surveillance operation that has been mounted by private security firm IRMS against campaigners opposed to the Corrib Gas project. The evidence consists of scans of pages from two IRMS notebooks that contain notes taken by IRMS personnel between April and June 2010. These scans of the notebooks can be viewed here: http://www.shelltosea.com/content/irms-notebooks-2010

Among the notes made was one which stated “VU Covert Camera Not in Box I-RMS 10” and also how the security went on the 5th June 2010 (while a gathering was taking place at Rossport Solidarity Camp) to “gather intel” and to take “Pics and names if possible”. The names of three campaigners are noted in one of the books.read more

In the John Millington Synge play ‘The Playboy of the Western World’, the hero, Christy Mahon regales three awed young women with the dramatic and false story of how he killed his father. Susan responds that it is a ‘grand story’ to which Honor says, ‘he tells it lovely’.

I believe that some local media commentators indulged in some Christy Mahon style of lurid embroidery in their coverage of the lorry bound for the Corrib Gas terminal at Bellanaboy which got stuck at Glenamoy junction. To me, it seems as if they did a partisan trawl of the Corrib archive to cast doubts on the overall integrity of the project.read more

FROM OUR AUGUST 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE…

ShellNews.net: Shell loses Royal Dutch Shell PLC Domain Name Battle

As a result of their gross incompetence this *scandal ridden multinational finds itself in a highly embarrassing position. It has publicly laid claim to the domain name and will consequently suffer a considerable loss of face with its shareholders, the public and its competitors, as a result of the unanimous verdict.

Friday 12 August 2005: 01.35am ET

Unanimous verdict against Shell in Royal Dutch Shell PLC Domain Name proceedings

By John Donovan

A three person administrative panel appointed under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organisation has given a unanimous decision in favour of ShellNews.net website owner, Alfred Donovan, in respect of three Shell related domain names, including www.royaldutchshellplc.com

The Irish Times – Saturday, August 11, 2012

LORNA SIGGINS, Western Correspondent

THE COMPANY which provides security for the Corrib gas project in Co Mayo has said it is working “to the highest standards”.

Integrated Risk Management Services (IRMS) was responding to disclosure of a company “situation report”, recording movements at a protest camp located on private land overlooking the Corrib gas pipeline worksite.

The report by IRMS’s “Aughoose Command and Control Centre” comprises a timeline of movements on June 29th and 30th last, from 7am to 7am.read more

FROM OUR AUGUST 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE…

Irish Times: FG leader wants TD to apologise for office picket

“The five men in Cloverhill face into their sixth week in prison, with no sign of any breakthrough due to Shell’s insistence on building an onshore terminal and its refusal to lift the injunction against north Mayo residents opposed to the onshore pipeline.”

Monday 8 August 2005

Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has called for an apology from fellow Mayo TD Dr Jerry Cowley (Ind) about a picket of his constituency office over the Corrib gas issue.

Mr Kenny says he holds Dr Cowley “personally responsible” for “the behaviour, attitude and abusive language” towards two of his staff during an eight-hour protest on Friday in Castlebar.

Mr Kenny says he was “compelled for the safety and security” of his office and staff to call the gardaI to remove Dr Cowley “and his supporters” late on Friday.read more

FROM OUR AUGUST 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE…

Irish Times: Ministers can’t play both sides in key projects

“The dispute between Shell and the residents of north Mayo spilled over into the British papers last week. With the clarity that observing something from a distance allows, the story was distilled down to the company being ordered by the Irish Government to dismantle a pipeline because it had been built illegally.”: It is not the sort of publicity that any company likes, particularly one with Shell’s sensitivities…”

John McManus

Aug 08, 2005

Business Opinion: The dispute between Shell and the residents of north Mayo spilled over into the British papers last week.

With the clarity that observing something from a distance allows, the story was distilled down to the company being ordered by the Irish Government to dismantle a pipeline because it had been built illegally.

The other key fact to be gleaned from the UK newspaper reports was that five local men are in jail in Ireland for opposing this apparently illegally built pipeline, the safety of which appears to be an issue, because the Government is ordering an independent inquiry.read more

FROM OUR AUGUST 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE…

Irish Times: Compromise in Corrib gas dispute

“There is no doubt that Shell miscalculated badly if its management thought to intimidate other likely protesters by making an example of these men.”: Multinational companies in the oil and gas industry are accustomed to flexing their muscles and getting their way with governments. In its anxiety to develop the gas field, Shell overstepped its authority and undertook work that was not specifically sanctioned by Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey. It has since been directed to undo that work: Shell’s public image has been seriously damaged.”

Thursday Aug 04, 2005

It is now days since five men went to jail for refusing to give an undertaking that they would not obstruct work on the construction of the Corrib gas pipeline in North Mayo. They have been in court on a number of occasions since that time. And, in spite of an invitation from High Court president, Mr Justice Finnegan, to purge their contempt and his observation that there was no sense in their remaining in jail, they have continued to opt for incarceration.

High stakes are being played for here. When the protests began some months ago, the great majority of local people had come to accept – after years of controversy and public debate – that the processing of natural gas from the Corrib field would take place on shore. The jailing of the men, following legal action by Shell E&P Ireland, has changed that situation.read more

Shell News Archive Monday 28 November 2005

Forbes/AFX News Limited: Shell starts production at massive new Nigerian field UPDATE: “Development of the Bonga field was hit by long delays and cost overruns, but Shell now hopes to rapidly reach peak capacity and boost the west African country’s total oil production by 10 pct.”: Monday 28 November 2005: READ

BBC NEWS: Shell’s new Nigerian field on tap: Anglo-Dutch giant Shell says it has begun pumping oil from a huge new field off the Nigerian coast, boosting the country’s total production by 10%.”: “However, delays and cost overruns mean the development cost $3.6bn (£2.1bn), up from original estimates of $2.7bn.”: Monday 28 November 2005: READread more

The New York Times: Big Oil, Big Bucks: “The companies are making money far faster than they can spend it.”: “On Thursday, Senator Bill Frist, the Republican leader, said the Senate should call executives of major oil companies to testify about high prices.”: Sunday 30 October 2005read more

“Shell, which said in 2002 it expected to bring gas onshore within two years, now can’t say when it expects to begin tapping the field.”

Tuesday 25 October 2005

Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) — Willie Corduff, a farmer from Rossport in western Ireland, spent 94 days in prison for obstructing Royal Dutch/Shell Plc’s plans to build a pipeline near his village. A court will rule today on whether he needs to serve more time.

“I don’t want to go back to jail, but I will if I have to,” said Corduff, 51, as he drove from Bellanaboy to Rossport, a 30-house village perched on the edge of Broadhaven Bay in Mayo. Corduff, wearing blue jeans and green wellington boots, says he’ll do anything “within the law” to prevent the project.read more

Irish Times: Dempsey accused of Corrib ‘ploy’

“Three weeks after their release from jail, the men told a press conference in Castlebar, Co Mayo, yesterday that neither Noel Dempsey nor his officials had made any contact with them in relation to proposed mediation.”: “Shell is still seeking a permanent injunction against opposing landowners.”

Tuesday October 25, 2005

Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent

The five Mayo men who return to the High Court today over their opposition to the Corrib gas onshore pipeline have accused the Minister for the Marine of using mediation as a “ploy”.

Three weeks after their release from jail, the men told a press conference in Castlebar, Co Mayo, yesterday that neither Noel Dempsey nor his officials had made any contact with them in relation to proposed mediation.

In a separate development, Mr Dempsey has been informed that there is no legal impediment if he decides to defer his own order to Shell to dismantle an illegally welded section of onshore pipeline.read more

Irish Times: Corrib gas project talks under threat

“The future of mediation talks over the 900 million Corrib gas project for north Mayo hung in the balance last night, as the five recently released opponents of the onshore pipeline expressed serious concern about the Government’s latest action.”

Friday October 21, 2005

Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent

The future of mediation talks over the 900 million Corrib gas project for north Mayo hung in the balance last night, as the five recently released opponents of the onshore pipeline expressed serious concern about the Government’s latest action.

The men are due to meet today following confirmation by the Minister for the Marine that he is “considering legal issues” which would allow him to defer his own order to dismantle an illegally welded section of the high pressure pipeline.read more

Irish Times: Judge rejects pipeline claim against Shell

“Yesterday, Mr Justice Finnegan rejected claims by the Rossport Five Campaign that Shell had breached an undertaking to the court that it would not carry out works on lands owned by three of the five and other parties which were linked to the pipeline development.”

Thursday Oct 20, 2005

The president of the High Court yesterday declared he was satisfied Shell had carried out no unauthorised works on lands owned by some of the Rossport Five, who were jailed for breach of court orders made after they objected to works linked to the installation of the high-pressure Corrib gas pipeline.

However, the issue of whether there were unauthorised works by Shell relating to the laying and welding of pipes on other lands was a matter between the company and the Minister for the Marine, Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan said. This issue was not one before the court.read more

Western People (Ireland): Rossport Five ‘constrained’ by pending High Court case

Wednesday 19 October 2005

Mr Micheal Ó Seighin, one of the Rossport Five, made a brief appearance at the public consultation where Dr Mark Garavan, Spokesperson for Shell to Sea made a statement on behalf of the men.

Dr Garavan explained that the statement was the men’s way of indicating their willingness to engage constructively in resolving the Corrib Gas crisis. It provided them with a way in which to explain why they felt it was impossible for them to participate. Public consultations should be held prior to decisions being made.read more

Irish Times: Shell ‘committed’ to solving Corrib issues

Saturday Oct 15, 2005

Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent

Shell E&P Ireland says it is “fully committed” to completing the 900 million Corrib gas project in Mayo and to finding a solution relating to all the issues raised by some local landowners on the onshore pipeline route.

The company’s managing director Andy Pyle said in Ballina, Co Mayo, yesterday that all sides needed to work together in a constructive manner. He said he welcomed progress made at all of the project sites in Mayo over the past fortnight.read more

“Five Irishmen spent 94 days in jail for refusing to obey a court order not to interfere with the pipeline to an onshore processing plant. They and their supporters say it’s being built on “unstable bog land” close to homes, and that the proposed refinery will pollute a nearby nature reserve and local water.”

Friday 14 October 2005

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s second-largest oil company, said it plans to proceed with a controversial pipeline in western Ireland to pump gas onshore from the 900 million-euro ($1.1 billion) Corrib field.

Shell is “fully committed both to the completion of the Corrib Project and to finding a solution that will deal with all of the issues concerning some local landowners,” Shell E&P Ireland Ltd. Managing Director Andy Pyle said today in an e-mailed statement.read more

Shell Appoints New Upstream Director17 Jan 2019 13:27Rigzoneby Andreas Exarheas
|Rigzone Staff
|Thursday, January 17, 2019
Royal Dutch Shell plc has appointed Wael Sawan as its new upstream director.
Royal Dutch Shell plc has appointed Wael Sawan as its new upstream director, with effect from July 1.
As part of …

Shell appoints Sawan upstream boss, replacing Brown17 Jan 2019 11:42London South EastLONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has
appointed Wael Sawan to head its oil and gas production
division, replacing Andy Brown who will step down after 35 years
at the Anglo-Dutch company.
Sawan, a Canadian citizen of Lebanese origin, currently
…

Climate Concerns Are Pushing Oil Majors to Look Beyond Fossil Fuels15 Jan 2019 18:44Science & TechnologyIn 2016, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, started a historic plunge into new businesses.
The British-Dutch-controlled company began spending $2 billion a year on joint ventures that had little or nothing to do …

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500 EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS CITING OUR WEBSITES

See our link list of 477 articles by the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires, New York Times, CNBC etc, plus UK House of Commons Select Committee Hansard records, information on U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission websiteetc. all containing references to our Shell focussed websites, or our website founders Alfred and John Donovan. Includes TV documentary features in English and German, newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, newsletters etc. Plus academic papers, Stratfor intelligence reports and UK, U.S. and Australian state/parliamentary publications, also citing our Shell websites. Click on this link to see the entire list, all in date order with a link to an index of 60 books also containing references to our websites and/or our activities.
John Donovan, the website ownerHead-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.

DISCLAIMER

This is not a Shell website, nor is it officially endorsed by or affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell.
There are no subscription charges nor do we solicit or accept donations.

SHELL PRELUDE TO DISASTER

The links below are to a series of articles, many triggered by a well-placed whistleblower directly involved in the pioneering Royal Dutch Shell Prelude project. Includes articles by Mr Bill Campbell above, the retired distinguished HSE Group Auditor of Shell International and another retired Shell guru with a track record of spotting potential pitfalls in major Shell projects.

NAZI NAMED SHIP HIRED BY SHELL

The campaign waged on this website by John Donovan to persuade Edward Heerema to rename the worlds biggest ship, The Pieter Schelte - which he named after his late father, Pieter Schelte Heerema, a former Officer in the German Waffen-SS - has been successful. On Friday 6 February 2015, Allseas announced that it was changing the ships name, and on 9 February announced the new name - Pioneering Spirit.

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL EMPLOYEE DATA BREACH

GLOBAL NEWS COVERAGE: FEBRUARY 2010
MORE INFORMATION: Contact details for over 176,000 employees and contractors of Royal Dutch Shell reached John Donovan and some environmental and human rights groups, ostensibly from disaffected Shell staff calling for a “peaceful corporate revolution” at the company. The database, from Shell’s internal directory, contained names and telephone numbers for all the company’s work force worldwide, including some home numbers. It was supplied with a 170­ page covering note, explaining that it was being circulated by “116 concerned employees of Shell dispersed throughout the USA, the UK, and the Netherlands”, to highlight the harm done by the company’s operations in Nigeria. John Donovan brought the leak to the attention of Shell. Tests proved that the data was authentic and he destroyed the database after being informed by Mr. Richard Wiseman, the then Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, that the confidential information if publicly disclosed, could put Shell employees and contractors in real danger.

SHELL’S ROLE IN NIGERIAN OPL 245 BRIBERY SCANDAL

Whatever fig leaves they might be trying to use to hide the truth, Shell and Eni paid over $1bn to a company called Malabu for the OPL 245 licence. Even though the payment was channelled through the Nigerian government, it was clear that Shell knew that the ultimate beneficiary was Dan Etete, the former minister of petroleum. Etete is the owner of Malabu, to whom he awarded the licence when he was Nigerian Minister of Petroleum.

SHELL PERSECUTION OF DR JOHN HUONG

SHELL SAKHALIN2 DEBACLE

NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL

Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.

MORE INFORMATION
Shell appeased and collaborated with the Nazis. The oil giant instructed its employees in the Netherlands to complete a form giving particulars about their descent, which for some, amounted to a self-declared death warrant. Shell used slave labor and was a close business partner in Germany of I.G. Farben, the notorious Nazi run chemical giant that also used slave labor and supplied the Zyklon-B gas used during the Holocaust to exterminate millions of people, including children. Shell continued the partnership with the Nazis in the years after the retirement of Sir Henri and even after his death. It was money generated on Shell forecourts around the world, profiteering from cartel oil prices, that funded the Nazi party and saved it from financial collapse. Evidence about Shell's Nazi connections can be found in extracts from "A History of Royal Dutch Shell" Volumes 1 and 2 authored by historians paid by Shell, who had unrestricted access to Shell archives. There are 67 pages in total, so takes some time to download.

Photograph (full size here) shows a Swastika flag flying at the head office of Royal Dutch Petroleum, 30 Carel van Bylandtlaan, The Hague, during the Nazi occupation of the in World War II (From Image Database Hague Municipal)

Sir Henri Deterding, the founder of the Royal Dutch Shell Group - known as "The Most Powerful Man in the World" - who became an ardent Nazi and financial supporter of Hitler and the Nazi party.

SHELL ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS

SHELL IP PIRACY

Reading between the lines in various legal documents, it seems that the allegations are that after the technology in question had been disclosed to a Shell company in the USA, the information was passed to Shell in the Netherlands in breach of confidentiality. And Royal Dutch Shell subsequently exploited the technology without payment or credit to the company holding the rights; Newton Research Partners. The inference seems to be that Twister B.V. was founded by Shell partly on trade secrets stolen from Bloom/Newton.

WEBSITE INFORMATION

DISCLAIMER: This is not a Shell website nor is it officially endorsed by or affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Originally co-founded by the late Alfred Donovan and his son John, it is now operated by John, Shell's "No.1 Enemy", aided by an expert team, with invaluable support from retired Shell senior executives and officials as guest contributors and leaked information from Shell insiders.(JOHN DONOVAN, WEBSITE OWNER)For nearly a decade, we have operated globally under the Royal Dutch Shell Plc top level domain name, dealing on Shell’s reluctant behalf with job applications, business proposals, Shell pension enquiries, shareholder enquiries, complaints, invitations to speak at conferences, an approach from the Dutch Defence Ministry and even terrorist threats. All meant for Shell. Prospect magazine has aptly described this website as being:"An open wound for Shell":WIPO proceedings by Shell to seize the domain name failed.NO SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES: All of our watchdog activities monitoring Royal Dutch Shell, including operating this website, are carried out on a non-profit basis. Any advertising revenues generated are used to recover and/or defray operational costs. We are a news aggregator and original content website. All information is available free for educational and research purposes. SHELL TACIT ENDORSEMENT: WHAT A WELL INFORMED SHELL OFFICIAL SAID ABOUT US:
"John and Alfred Donovan well known in UK/Hague. They perceive Shell played them and so have made it their mission to embarrass,belittle and criticize Shell, which they do quite well. Their website, royaldutchshellplc.com is an excellent source of group news and comment and I recommend it far above what our own group internal comms puts out."
WARNING TO SHELL EMPLOYEES: Shell Global Affairs Security "CAS") is spying on Shell employees globally trying to trace who is visiting, posting, or leaking information to this website from Shell premises. Threats, including death threats, have allegedly been made against conscience driven Shell whistleblowers supplying us with information. The worlds biggest leak of employee details as part of a claimed corporate revolution by 116 Shell employees, suggest the espionage operation, threats and draconian litigation have not been entirely successful in cutting off the supply of information to this website. The insider leaks had already cost Shell billions on the Sakhalin Energy project and the loss of SEIC Deputy Chairman, David Greer.We publish our own carefully researched articles about Shell e.g. "How Royal Dutch Shell saved Hitler and the Nazi Party".MEDIA COVERAGE: Prospect Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian, have all published major articles about us: "Rise of the Gripe Site";"Two men and a website mount vendetta against Shell' and "92-year-old's website leaves oil giant Shell-shocked”. SHELL PETROL STATION images displayed in the website header panel are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Information on copyright issues here.
John Donovan can be contacted at [email protected]

SHELL’S $500,000 WEDDING GIFT TO CORRUPT BRUNEI ROYAL FAMILY

EXTRACT FROM ASIAN JOURNAL ARTICLE IN LIST OF LINKS BELOW: "Fireworks will light up the sky for three nights. The local unit of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has donated 500,000 Brunei dollars (US$292,400; euro 243,700) for the display, and for cultural events to be hosted by popular performers from Malaysia."

BILL CAMPBELL WHISTLEBLOWER EMAIL TO MP’S

IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS:

THIS IS WHAT IT SAID:

Subject: This could be the most important whistleblower email you have ever received.

Some unfortunate Royal Dutch Shell workers have already lost their lives. More lives are at stake.

My name is Bill Campbell. I am a former Group Auditor of Shell International. I am writing to you on a matter of conscience in an effort to avert the inevitability of another major accident in the North Sea. The consequences could potentially impact on families in many constituencies, including your own.

As Royal Dutch Shell and the Health & Safety Executive would acknowledge, I am an expert on safety matters relating to offshore oil and gas platforms. In 1999, I was appointed by Shell to lead a safety audit on the Brent Bravo platform. The audit revealed a platform management culture that basically gave a higher priority to production than the safety of Shell employees. To our astonishment we discovered that a "Touch F*** All" policy was in place. Worse still, safety records were routinely falsified and repairs bodged.

I personally brought the shocking situation to the attention of senior management including Malcolm Brinded, the then Managing Director of Shell Exploration & Production. I revealed that ESDV leak-off tests were purposely falsified, not once but many times and that Brent Bravo platform management had admitted responsibility for the dangerous practices being followed. In response to my team ringing alarm bells, management pledged to rectify the serious problems which had been uncovered.

When I later complained that the pledges were not being kept, I was removed from my oversight function.

Four years later, a massive gas leak occurred on the platform. Two workers lost their lives. I have no doubt at all that the inaction of the relevant Asset Manager, the General Manager, the Oil Director and Malcolm Brinded, contributed in some part to the unlawful killing of two persons on Brent Bravo in September 2003.

Shell subsequently pleaded guilty to breaches of the HSE regulations and a record-breaking £900,000 fine was imposed. I thought this would bring about a real change in policy to put the emphasis on safety.

Unfortunately I was wrong. Although I supplied the evidence related to 1999, and the fact that there had been a collapse in controls of integrity from 1999 to 2003 on all 16 of Shell's North Sea offshore installations covered in a post fatality integrity review to the HSE for review by the Procurator Fiscal, none of this evidence was presented before the Sheriff at the subsequent Inquiry. The situation is explained in a letter to the Procurator Fiscal and the Sheriff (on 24th February 2007).

Shell management has engaged in spin to try to pretend that it is getting to grips with its safety problem. However, its atrocious safety record - the worst in the North Sea in terms of accidental deaths and absolute number of enforcement actions – tells a different story. This fact has resulted in a number of newspaper articles.

I have had meetings with senior Shell people including its CEO Mr. Jeroen van der Veer. I regret to say that I have found him to be economical with the truth. He prefers to support cover-up and deceit rather than confronting the underlying problems. Brinded is now Executive Director of Shell Exploration & Production. He believes in burying evidence.

My family and friends would probably prefer me to give up on this matter and enjoy my retirement after so many years working for Shell.

However, by writing to every MP in the UK, no one can ever say that I did not do my best to avert an inevitable further major accident event in the North Sea. When it happens (I pray that I am wrong) I will make this warning communication available to the media together with the vast amount of evidence in my possession.

At least my conscience is clear. I have done everything possible to ring the alarm bells about Shell management and its unscrupulous attitude to the safety of its employees.

Yours sincerely
Bill Campbell

ENDS

(Malcolm Brinded and Jeroen van der Veer are no longer with Shell. The Oil Director referred to in the email is Chris Finlayson, who left Shell to become Chief Executive of British Gas before being fired - his photo immediately below)

SHELL RESERVES FRAUD

SIR PHILIP WATTS, THE GROUP CHAIRMAN OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP, FORCED TO RESIGN IN 2004

Shell’s reputation was destroyed in 2004 after FIVE consecutive cuts to its hydrocarbon reserves covering 55% of its total reserves. US and UK financial regulators imposed $150 million in fines on Shell for securities fraud. Shell was also rocked by class action lawsuits.Sir Philip Watts
and Walter van de Vijver (whose headcut images appear courtesy of The Wall Street Journal) were among the Shell executives forced to resign. More details at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: The Shell reserves scandal brought about
the end of the Royal Dutch Shell Group in its original form as an Anglo-Dutch partnership.
Shell Transport & Trading Co and Royal Dutch Petroleum were unified into a single Dutch owned company - Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Sir Philip turned to religion and is now a very wealthy priest after receiving a payoff/pension package from Shell reportedly worth $18.5 million. Walter van de Vijver in contrast was the victim of a sadistic sacking by his Shell senior management backstabbing colleagues.

by John Donovan

Displayed below are some of the spectacular promotional campaigns my company Don Marketing created for Shell in the 1980s and 1990s. This was before the series of SIX high court actions we brought against Shell for stealing ideas (4) and for defamation (2) - all settled by Shell. This website is a permanent response by me to the malicious underhand tactics, including treachery, espionage and intimidation, used by Shell during and after the bouts of litigation. More information is printed at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: After a solicitor acting for Shell threatened to make the litigation "drawn out and difficult" with the intention of draining the resources of a financially weaker opponent, my late father (Alfred Donovan) and I decided to mount a wide-ranging campaign as a counter-measure. We jointly founded the Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group, which nearly 15% of Shell UK retailers joined. We regularly conducted ethical surveys involving up to 1500 Shell petrol stations. All responses were opened and authenticated by an independent solicitor who supplied Affidavits confirming the results. In whole page announcements in trade magazines (examples above) we challenged Shell to commission and publish the resuits of independent research asking the same questions and offering respondents GUARANTEED anonymity. Shell never took up the invitation. Instead it asked the UK Advertising Standards Authority to investigate our Shell surveys. No problems were found. The head-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.

SHELL CONTROVERSIES

selection of memorable warnings/articles/images associated with the controversial track record of Royal Dutch Shell.

WARNING: DO NOT DISCLOSE YOUR IDEAS TO SHELL GameChanger OR SHELL Ideas360 WITHOUT TAKING EVERY POSSIBLE PRECAUTION. Shell management has ample funds to pay for intellectual property but prefers to steal it from small businesses and in our experience, gives its full backing to dishonest managers willing to do its bidding. We have sued Shell repeatedly in the High Court for the theft of our Intellectual Property. It is doubtful if anyone can match our dire experience in dealing with this ruthless unscrupulous serial poacher of other parties ideas. Expect threats, legal machinations and sinister action from Shell and its spooks if you object to having your ideas stolen.

Some years ago extensive documentary evidence was brought to the attention of Malcolm Brinded above, when he was Chairman of Shell UK, proving beyond any doubt that Shell executives had conspired to rig a tender for a major contract. A number of innocent firms were deliberately lured into signing confidentiality agreements and disclosing Intellectual Property to Shell under false pretences, in a carefully contrived plot. The firm which was awarded the contract never took part in the tender. One objective of the Machiavellian plan was to stop/delay IP trade secrets owned by the participants in the tender from being disclosed to Shell's rivals. This was achieved by outright deception, without paying a cent to the firms involved, who wrongly believed they were participating in an honest tender. Instead of sacking the ring leader, AJL - who had a personal relationship with the firm which miraculously won the race in which it never ran - Shell senior directors, including Brinded, gave AJL their full backing. Some of the Shell executives involved, including for example, Tim Hannagan, still hold high positions inside Shell - in his case, Global Brand and Visual Identity Manager. If Shell does not accept that this is a true, provable account of what happened, then it should sue for libel. How on earth is such predatory conduct compatible with Shell's claimed business principles?